ALTON, Mo. -- The man suspected of stealing an Oregon County Sheriff's Department patrol vehicle is now in custody.

ALTON, Mo. -- UPDATE - Jeffrey Wegener is now in custody. The Oregon County Sheriff's Office says Wegener was arrested just after 12:30 a.m. about 10 miles east of Alton.

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UPDATE - The Oregon County Sheriff's Office released a new picture of the suspect, Jeffrey Wegener. Wegener is now charged with tampering with a motor vehicle and theft of a firearm. The warrant for his arrest was issued Monday, with a $70,000 bond set. As of Tuesday morning, Wegener was still not in custody.

Original Story

Officials in Oregon County are searching for a 26-year-old Nebraska man suspected of stealing an Oregon County Sheriff’s patrol truck and driving it into the Eleven-Point River on Sunday.

According to a news release from the sheriff’s department, the truck was stolen about 9:30 p.m. Sunday and driven into the river at the Stubblefield Access by Jeffrey Wegener, 26, of Platte Center, Nebraska.

No one was around the vehicle when it was located.

The sheriff is urging all citizens in the Myrtle, Mo., area to keep keys out of vehicles and keep vehicles and homes locked.